In Italy antipasti are served before a meal, along with an aperitif. Antipasti are anything that will whet the appetite; often something salty like olives, nuts, or as in Sicily, this crisp fried panelle. Here we’ve accompanied it with slices of salami and a bowl of olives.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup chick pea flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
2 cups water
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
To cook
vegetable oil for frying
METHOD
Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
Sift the chick pea flour into a medium saucepan and stir in the salt, pepper, cumin and rosemary. Gradually whisk in the water to make a smooth batter.
Place over a medium heat and bring to the boil, whisking constantly until the mixture is thick. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 8-10 minutes to cook out the raw flour, stirring occasionally to prevent it sticking on the base of the saucepan.
Remove from the heat and stir in the flat-leaf parsley and Parmesan. Tip into the loaf tin, cool and refrigerate until ready to cook. The panelle can be made 2 days ahead.
To cook: Turn the panelle out onto the bench and slice ½-1 cm thick. Cut each slice into 3 triangles.
Heat 1 cm of vegetable oil in a sauté pan. Cook the panelle in batches for 5 minutes until golden brown on both sides. Drain on kitchen towels and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve hot.
Makes about 20 pieces.
Chick pea flour: (also called besan, gram, ceci, chana or garbanzo bean flour) is available from good supermarkets, specialty food stores and health food shops.
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127
In Dream Escape, we journey from Japan and Morocco to Italy, India and beyond, sharing recipes inspired by travel, heritage and comfort. We celebrate the champions of the Outstanding Food Producer Awards, explore the stories and recipes of chefs shaped by their cultural roots, and warm up with everything from West African soups and slow-braised lamb to porchetta, butter chicken and beef noodle soup. Alongside destination menus, Scandinavian sweets and cosy pub classics, Chrisanne Terblanche shares her favourite street-side dining spots in Bangkok, while Yvonne Lorkin explores red wine varietals. This issue, we invite you to slow down, turn the pages and escape through food.







